"Power from the sun" - article in OSCE Magazine
published in OSCE Magazine'Security Community', issue 3, 2013
14.10.2013 | Anke Stock
Energy use affects women differently from men. Women’s economic empowerment is essential for achieving sustainable development that meets the energy needs of the present without compromising future generations, as was already recognized in the Rio Declaration of 1992. But inefficient, labour-intensive methods of producing energy often hinder women from playing an equal role in society.
Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) is a network of over 100 organizations mainly from Western Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus and the Balkans that was founded shortly after Rio to bring women’s perspectives to policy makers. WECF also implements local projects that promote a healthy environment and strengthen the role of women. Recently, it has helped women in the OSCE region to gain economic empowerment by harnessing the power of the sun.
In some regions of Ukraine and Georgia, wood is still a major source of energy for heating and cooking. Women are usually the ones who spend time gathering firewood and tending fires to heat water for household chores or prepare meals. WECF implemented a project in these regions to assist households in switching to solar heating systems. Together with its German partner Solar Partner Süd it trained women to install and maintain solar panels themselves.
In Tajikistan, many women and children are left to fend for themselves when men leave the country to seek employment abroad. In the town of Dehkanobod, about 30 km from the capital city Dushanbe, a group of women decided to supplement their incomes by growing and selling vegetables and fruits. A major obstacle was the high cost of energy to run greenhouses.
WECF proposed that they build solar greenhouses. In contrast to traditional models, they are not expensive and can be set up without great skill. They store warmth and allow growers to reap an early first harvest.
With funds from WECF and practical advice from its local partners, the women constructed the solar greenhouses and started using them in the spring of this year. They were able to sell tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs in Dushanbe and the local market.
These are just two examples, of modest initiatives bringing small changes. But WECF has learned that decentralized projects implemented with the help of local partners can have a snowball effect. They can be the beginning of a larger movement. Of taking responsibility, for gender equality and for the earth we live on.
Dr. Anke Stock is a senior gender and rights lawyer at the WECF. She presented the gender perspective on promoting sustainable energy at the Second Preparatory Meeting for the 21st OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum in Kyiv, held on 16 and 17 April 2013.
Related News
Meet the Winners of the Gender Just Climate Solutions Award at COP24
On the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we awarded Gender Just Climate Solutions Winners at the climate negotiations in Katowice, Poland
11.12.2018
Getting to the Future We Want
4-7 November, Brussels: European Environmental Bureau’s (EEB) Annual Conference
12.11.2018
What to expect from the climate talks that resumed in Bangkok this week?
COP24: second intersession of the climate change negotiations 2018, Bangkok, Thailand
07.09.2018
Application open for Gender Just Climate Solutions Award 2018!
WECF and partners invite you to participate in the 4th annual Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards
01.08.2018
Women and Gender Constituency Joint Statement On SB48
Real commitment to rights-based, gender-just solutions to climate change is imperative for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
18.06.2018